Archive for the ‘flower food’ Category

Today we thought we’d introduce you to a member of our esteemed Calyx Flowers’ team – his name is Brian Goodhue and he is our resident marketing whiz. Not only is Brian our number one numbers guy, he has quite a green thumb – two actually. As you can see, he has taken good care of his Brazilian Rain Tree bonsai and it is growing quickly! At Calyx Flowers, we not only provide flowers to our customers, but we truly love all plant life as well and like to keep our offices adorn with fresh flowers and plants when we can. We know the number one tip to keeping our flowers blooming and our plants growing is tender love and care. Check out our website for specific tips on your plant or flower order! We want you to keep your beautiful gift for as long as possible.

Edible flowers? But of course….I recently stumbled upon these floral gems at quaint candy store appropriately named The Sugar Shack. Gummy Flowers are as delightful as a bouquet of real flowers for those of us who indulge our sweet tooth. They come in six fruity flavors: grape, blue raspberry, mango, cherry, orange and strawberry. The flowers are styled as tulips, sunflowers or daisies. I would love to have a delicious assortment of these candies right next to a blooming bouquet of mixed flowers in colors that would complement each other. Wouldn’t you?

This answer comes from Annie Bond, author of the book “Better Basics for the Home” (see link below):

The little packet of flower food are bactericides that kill the bacteria, yeasts, and fungi.

Here are tips of reaching this same goal without the chemicals:

Copper is a fungicide and acts to preserve the water from too many yeasts and fungi.

Aspirin is an acid and helps to kill bacteria overgrowth.

Add 2 tablespoons lemon juice or vinegar to 1 quart of water. The idea here is the same as with aspirin, since lemon juice and vinegar are acidic.

That also explains why, when arranging bouquets, we remove all the leaves below the water line — so that submerged leaves don’t act as a breeding ground for fungi and bacteria and shorten the life of your blooms.

Cut-flower bouquets bought from a flower delivery website or from your local florist will usually have powdered “flower food” to extend the life of your bouquet. But for wildflowers or flowers gathered from your garden, if you don’t have store-bought flower food on hand, you can make your own.

Warning: I have NOT tested these recipes, and it’s pretty hard to separate the folk-wisdom from the science. I would love to hear from others who have compared the various recipes. And if you have your own “secret recipe” that works, please add it to this blog as a Comment!